Josiah McElheny and David Weinberg From the Big Bang to Island Universe

In this conversation, artist (and MacArthur Fellow) Josiah McElheny and Ohio State astronomer David Weinberg discuss a collaboration that has resulted in four cosmologically inspired sculptures created over the past four years.

Their work together began with An End to Modernity, a memorable sculpture produced when McElheny was a Wexner Center Residency Award artist and exhibited here in 2005, and is concluding with a five-piece installation titled Island Universe (2008) that's been shown in London and Madrid. Today, they'll describe the history of their collaboration and the scientific and philosophical ideas behind these extraordinary art works. The presentation concludes with the Columbus premiere of McElheny's recent film, also titled Island Universe (19 mins., Super 16mm film transferred to high definition video).

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Cosponsored by Ohio State’s Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics (CCAPP).

Image credits:
Josiah McElheny
Island Universe (film still), 2005–2008
High definition video projection of super 16mm film
Courtesy of the artist and White Cube / Jay Jopling, London, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, and Donald Young Gallery, Chicago

Josiah McElheny
Island Universe (installation view), 2009
Chrome-plated aluminum, handblown and molded glass,
electric lighting, and rigging
Dimensions variable
Installation at the Palacio de Cristal of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Courtesy the artist, Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, and
Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
Photography: Iván Caso